


Not An Afterthought

by herecomestroublr



Series: Kankri Vantas Has a Matesprit [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Anoother part of my kankri series, Multi, Troll!Reader - Freeform, not gonna list every single character that speaks, only the main speakers get a say, they kind of all go together, this is what i WISH had happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 09:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20328520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herecomestroublr/pseuds/herecomestroublr
Summary: Caliborn defeated and everyone safe, the alpha versions of the Post-Scratch trolls try to make sense of their new world. With the disappearance of dream bubbles and the shrinking of the numbers of ghosts, what will they do? What will happen?





	Not An Afterthought

**Author's Note:**

> hey yall! 
> 
> it has been WAY too long since i posted anything, so have this thing thats just been sitting in my folder for 6 months now. i decided i might as well post SOMETHING if i have my computer open, and time to do so. 
> 
> enjoy and have fun!

You were definitely surprised the original gang had survived the fight with Lord English, if you were being honest, and if being dead was considered surviving. All around you were the survivors of the fight--alternate versions of you and everyone. A bit away from you was the exhausted group of living teens, celebrating and cheering because _finally_ they could end the game. You envied them. 

“[Name]?” A hand on your shoulder startled you, and you turned to look into the white eyes of your matesprit. “Are y9u alright? Is s9mething wr9ng?” 

“I’m just… envious is all. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that someone finally won the game, and that they get to live in a cancer-free universe, but sometimes I just wish it was us, you know?” You said and leaned into his side. Kankri’s arm wrapped around you. 

“I kn9w. 6ut fate had 9ther plans, I supp9se.” And then he was silent again.

You watched as the other kids looked for Vriska, but could not find her. You lost track of her sometime in the middle of the fight and felt sorry for her when the humans and the other few living trolls went through the doorway, and finally into their new universe. 

It took some time for the excitement to die down, but eventually, the ghosts dispersed, and you and Kankri stood with your original trolls--the A1 trolls. 

Everyone was in a haphazard circle, all with their groups and connections of people. Eventually, you noticed three of the dancestors walk up--the alpha versions of the A2 trolls. It was weird, seeing them, considering how alike they would have looked if not for cultural differences. Eridan, Equius, and Feferi all stood together in a little group near Latula and Mituna, who were to your right. Everyone kind of avoided Aranea, who stood a few steps behind the group. She looked guilty. 

“The fuck are we supposed to do now?” Meenah finally asked. Everyone exchanged looks of confusion and worry. 

“Y34, l1k3, wh4t’s gonn4 h4pp3n to us?” Latula asked, looking between Kankri and Aranea--the leader and the know-it-all. Kankri looked away. 

“I am… not sure. Theoretically, The Incipisphere should stay in intact…”

“But?” Meenah prodded. Literally. She poked Aranea with her trident gently(it was shooed away with a pap). 

“Something just feels… off. There are a lot fewer ghosts, and that number is starting to shrink. It’s unnerving me.” Seeing the once normal(well as normal as she could be) Aranea look nervous, most of the group fidgeted. 

“8==D < Are we to sit and wait, then?” Horrus finally asked, sweating up a storm and grinning widely, although it looked strained. 

“Yeah, th1s sh1t 1s really we1rd, and 1 def1n1tely wanna do someth1ng about 1t.” Rufioh didn’t sound like he wanted to be the one to actually do anything, though. 

“So what do?” Damara’s heavy accent asked. Everyone looked a little shocked, especially when she was staring down Kankri. Kankri removed his arm from around you and wrapped his arms around himself. 

“I… I d9 n9t kn9w.” 

\--------

“Oh my gawd I don’t think I’ve ever seen real grass!” Was the first thing out of anyone's mouth, specifically Roxy, when they stepped out of the doorway and onto Earth again. 

Rose chuckled with Kanaya, and John looked fondly at her as Dirk walked up to his best friend and started a conversation about their surroundings with her, as he too had never seen real grass. Jane was conversing with Jake and the sprites, while Dave, Karkat, and Terezi stood off to the side. They watched as Calliope trotted over to Roxy as well, closely followed by John. 

“I….KIND OF FEEL SHITTY,” Karkat said after a considerable silence. He was looking over the regrown Earth, watching but not seeing, an extra pair of Dave’s shades covering his sensitive eyes from the sun. 

“DON’T YOU 4LW4YS F33L SH1TTY, K4RK4T?” Terezi asked, grinning at him. Karkat scowled and punched her. She laughed. 

“Yeah man, I have to agree here, you almost always feel shitty.” Dave input like the jerk he was. Karkat punched him too. 

“A DIFFERENT SHITTY, YOU NOOKSNIFFING ASSHATS! I’M TALKING ABOUT…” he trailed off, sounding awkward. “THE OTHERS, THOSE WHO COULDN’T LIVE, THE GHOSTS THAT ARE STILL OUT IN THE DREAM BUBBLES.”

Dave looked towards Karkat, and even though he was expressionless he gave off an incredulous feeling. “All of the ghosts? Because that’s a fuck ton of ghosts, Karkat. Too many fuckin ghosts if you ask me.”

Karkat refrained from trying to suplex his boyfriend, and instead answered his first question. “NO, YOU FUCKING FUCKASS! I MEAN THE ALPHA VERSIONS THAT DIED. THEY DIDN’T DESERVE IT. I JUST….WISH WE COULD DO SOMETHING. WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT BEING A GOD IF YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING?”

Dave was silent. He couldn’t think of anything to say that would make him feel better, and instead hugged the small troll with one arm. 

“Actually,” Rose began, having walked up after overhearing Karkat’s loud voice. “There may be something that we can do. But it will take everyone’s abilities.” 

Karkat perked up, hidden eyes glimmering happily. “REALLY?” 

“Yes. If you can get everyone’s attention…” Rose trailed off, moving out of Karkat’s line of sight. 

Karkat cleared his throat, and Dave smirked, repressing a chuckle. “ATTENTION, ATTENTION, YOU FUCKING FUCKASSES. IF YOU WOULD KINDLY BRING YOUR NOOK-SNIFFING, BULGE-LICKING SELVES OVER HERE, THAT WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY MOTHERFUCKING PERFECT!” He announced loudly. 

There were some protests, but soon enough everyone was gathered around Rose in a half-circle, figuring that Karkat’s loud voice was only trying to get their attention.

“What’s wrong, Rose?” John asked, stepping forward. There was a collective murmur of voices all asking similar questions, and Rose lifted her hand to silence them. 

“This was Karkat’s idea, but I agree with him. We need to bring everyone else back.”

The group went wild. 

“Everyone else?”

“The trolls too?”

“How the fuck is that even possible?”

“What will happen to the sprites?”

“I really hope that doesn’t mean Lord English.”

“Oh god please not my brother!”

“It’s okai, Callie! I’m sure she doesn’t mean him!”

Karkat’s eye twitched, and Dave tensed up when he felt Karkat’s irritation. “Karkat, wa--”

“SHUT THE EVERLOVING FUCK UP AND LISTEN! LALONDE HAS A PLAN, SO YOU ASSHATS BETTER FUCKING LISTEN.” 

Rose nodded gratefully at him when the crowd quieted down again. “Just please, listen. It is possible… but we’ll need everyone’s God Tier powers. Basically, we’ll need to track down their souls, and with a bit of shenanigans, provide them with bodies.”

“So how do we do it, then?” Jane asked from Dirk’s side, who nodded at his best friend’s question. 

There were more questions thrown at her, and Rose looked back at Karkat, who cleared his throat. 

“DIDN’T I JUST SAY SHUT THE FUCK UP?” The group went quiet again, and Rose sighed. 

“Seriously everyone, please stay quiet so I can explain.” There was a collective ‘sorry’, and Rose continued. “John, use your retcon abilities to block off anything the game might use to stop us, and let Dave and Aradia gather bodies. Jane, Dirk, you will each have the task of working together and trapping the soul in a body and reviving it. Jade will provide everyone with the necessary power, and Jake will provide hope, which is actually very important to this. Roxy, you will essentially steal matter and life from the universe to give it to the others and provide them with working materials. I will locate the souls. And all of this has to happen at almost the exact same time. It must be fast, or else we could lose them.” 

“uHH, wHAT ABOUT US?” Tavrossprite asked, raising his hand. 

“Good question. If you so wish it, you can also have a body again.” Rose answered. 

Chatter broke out again, and the sprites that used to be a human or a troll gathered in a group, whispering to each other. 

“Are You Sure This Will Work, Rose?” Kanaya asked, sliding up next to her girlfriend. 

“Y34H, TH1S S33MS L1K3 1T M1GHT NOT WORK.” Terezi input. “4LLTHOUGH 1 S33 L1T3R4LLY NO FL4W 1N YOUR PL4N.” 

“Hey, if Rose says this shit will work, I trust her.” Dave shrugged. 

John pursed his lips and looked conflicted. “What if… what if they don’t want to come back to life?”

“Yeah, I mean, some might not wanna fuckin’ live here.” Dirk agreed. 

“Well, everyone deserves to live, though!” Jake added. 

Callie nodded vigorously. “Yes! AlthoUgh I do not want to force anyone to do something they do not wish, everyone deserves to live! I know that I am gratefUl for my life!”

Jane nodded. “Yes, everyone should live. I agree.”

Rose turned to get Roxy’s opinion, but she just gave a thumbs up and elbowed John hard in the side when he frowned. He stumbled away with a sound of irritation. 

The sprites came back and nodded. 

“Alright, shall we get started then?”

\--------

After a few minutes, you had all decided to head back to your original dream bubble, happy to find it intact. You and Kankri had taken refuge on a bench in the forest, while everyone else was off doing their own business. 

“This is really weird, huh?” You asked after a long silence, turning to glance at your matesprit. 

Kankri’s brow furrowed as he turned to glance at you as well. “What d9 y9u mean?”

You let out a scornful scoff. “I mean, the fact that here we are, dead, with the game finally beat, and now what? What do we have to do? No wisdom to pass on, no boss to kill, no worry of dying again--why are we still here? The incipisphere is shrinking, and ghosts are disappearing. I just--” you paused. “I don’t know what I should do. How I should feel.” You emphasized, looking down at your grey hands.

Kankri placed one of his own hands in yours and laced your fingers together. “Neither d9 I. 6ut, I d9 kn9w that whatever happens, I wish t9 6e here with y9u.”

You looked up at him, and he quirked a smile. You gave him a pathetic and longing smile in return. “I really wish I could see your eyes again, Kankri.” 

“And I, y9u, [Name].” He squeezed your hand, and he leaned down to kiss you, but a shriek of your names caught your attention. 

You turned just in time to see Aranea and Meenah dissolve and flash out of existence. You cried out and stood up quickly, rushing to where they last were. “Meenah! Aranea!” You called out. 

“[Name]!” Kankri called out, and you turned just in time to see him flash out of existence as well. You cried out, trying to reach for him, but instead watched as your hand disappeared before your eyes, and you were gone.

A weird feeling overcame you, and suddenly you gasped, bringing air into your lungs with large gulps, doubling over and holding yourself up on your knees. 

There were voices all around, and you heard Kankri call your name in excitement and relief before you were lifted into the air. You heard laughing and held onto Kankri tightly he hugged you. 

“K-Kankri! What happened?” You asked, turning to look up into his eyes. As soon as you did, you gasped loudly at his wide grin and yellow eyes with the red iris. “Your eyes!” You exclaimed, before looking at your surroundings. 

All of your friends were there, hugging each other and celebrating. You even saw the post-scratch trolls who had died or turned into sprites alive and well. The humans were celebrating their success, and you even saw Karkat punch Sollux in the stomach. He was weird.

“[Name], l99k at me, please,” Kankri asked gently, turning your face towards his own as you grinned widely. 

“We’re alive!” You exclaimed, bouncing excitedly. 

“We’re n9t dead!” Kankri added, before hugging you tightly again. “We can finally live normal lives…” He trailed off, burying his face in your hair as you grinned happily. 

You would have replied, but had no time to as you were lifted in the air by Damara’s powers and floated over to your moirail. You laughed when she hugged you tighter than Kankri did. 

“He hogs you.” She said, no bite to her tone when she pulled away to look into your eyes. 

You grinned, all teeth, at her. “Well, we have time to fix that now, it would seem!”

She smiled and glanced around as everyone began to introduce themselves. “Yes. It seems so.”


End file.
